The Brother You Choose, Susie Day
The Brother You Choose, Susie Day
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
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The Brother You Choose
Paul Coates and Eddie Conway Talk about Life, Politics, and the Revolution

Author: Susie Day

Narrator: Cary Hite, Kate Mulligan, Leon Nixon

Unabridged: 6 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/24/2020

Synopsis

Former Black Panthers Paul Coates and Eddie Conway discuss lives, politics, and their friendship that helped Eddie survive decades in prison.In 1971, Eddie Conway, lieutenant of security for the Baltimore chapter of the Black Panther Party, was convicted of murdering a police officer and sentenced to life plus thirty years behind bars. Paul Coates was a community worker at the time and didn’t know Eddie well, and the little he knew, he didn’t much like. But Paul was dead certain that Eddie’s charges were bogus. He vowed never to leave Eddie—and in so doing, changed the course of both their lives.For over forty-three years, as he raised a family and started a business, Paul visited Eddie in prison, often taking his kids with him. He and Eddie shared their lives and worked together on dozens of legal campaigns in hopes of gaining Eddie’s release. Paul’s founding of the Black Classic Press in 1978 was originally a way to get books to Eddie in prison. When, in 2014, Eddie finally walked out onto the streets of Baltimore, Paul Coates was there to greet him. Today, these two men remain rock-solid comrades and friends, each being the other’s chosen brother.When Eddie and Paul met in the Baltimore Panther Party, they were in their early twenties. They are now into their seventies. This book is a record of their lives and their relationship, told in their own voices. Paul and Eddie talk about their individual stories, their work, their politics, and their immeasurable bond.

About Susie Day

Susie Day began listening to people in prison at the Washington, DC, jail, where she interviewed four women charged with the 1985 bombing of the US capitol.

About Cary Hite

Cary Hite has performed in several theaters across the country as a cast member in the longest-running African American play in history, The Diary of Black Men. He also appeared in Edward II, Fences, Macbeth, Good Boys, Side Effects May Vary, and the indie feature The City Is Mine. He has voiced several projects for AudibleKids, including Souls Look Back in Wonder, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road, and Papa, Do You Love Me?

About Kate Mulligan

Kate Mulligan has acted with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for more than ten seasons in productions including Hairspray, Alice in Wonderland, and Sense and Sensibility. Her film and television work includes Being John Malkovich and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

About Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates, American writer, journalist, and educator, is the award-winning author of the memoirs The Beautiful Struggle and Between the World and Me. He was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2016 by Time.com. Between the World and Me was longlisted for the National Book Award and was a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. He has received the National Magazine Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, the George Polk Award, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center Prize, and a “Genius” grant from the MacArthur Foundation. He is a national correspondent for the Atlantic.

About Leon Nixon

Leon Nixon is a professional actor, playwright, and filmmaker. A Los Angeles native, he has performed in short films, web series, and on stage in dramatic and comedic roles. He is also an improviser and part of the group that appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for Longest Continuous Improv Show.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kevin

The life and times of Eddie Conway and Paul Coates. Whether speaking individually or in conversation, these guys are raconteurs of the turbulent 1960s, the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and the Black Panther Party. In 1971, Eddie Conway was the Security Lieutenant for the Baltimore BPP. He......more

Goodreads review by Karen

Fairly short book of conversations between former Black Panther comrades, who became steadfast friends after one, Eddie Conway, was sent to prison for decades for a crime he didn't commit. The two men discuss their early lives, their involvement and eventual separation from the Black Panther Party,......more

Goodreads review by Steven

A short but remarkable work detailing the lives of Paul Coates and Eddie Conway and including important insights regarding their relationship and their beliefs and how their lives have changed. Their discussions were very informative and very interesting!......more

Goodreads review by Austin

The subject matter is really interesting, but I also really responded to the oral history format......more

Goodreads review by Sandra

Buku ini secara tidak sengaja saya temukan di diskon ebook oleh Haymarket. Dan saya merasa beruntung bisa dipertemukan untuk membaca buku ini. The Brother You Choose berisi percakapan dan cerita antara Paul dan Eddie, dua sahabat yang saling bergantung satu sama lain sejak tahun 1960an ketika mereka......more

Quotes

"The Brother You Choose is a landmark book for anyone who wants to understand the deep connectivity of Black America. It provides a ringside seat to the bruising fight for Civil Rights with two men, Eddie Conway and Paul Coates, as they provide necessary lessons on politics, change, community and enduring bonds. Their journey together and their hard-earned insights span nearly fifty years of seismic change in America. We see it through their experiences from prison to publishing house, their transformation from Vietnam War vets to Black Panthers, and now as elders with critical perspectives for the Black Lives Matter movement. Susie Day captures the elixir of a fifty-year friendship and the extraordinary men at its heart. It’s a lesson in loyalty, commitment under fire, and what we can all do to make America keep its promise.” Walter Mosley, New York Times bestselling author

“The Brother You Choose allows us to eavesdrop on a humor-filled, heartwarming conversation between Eddie Conway and Paul Coates, whose love for each other and for their people carried them through revolutionary struggles and decades of wrongful imprisonment. An engaging read, these deeply personal perspectives on a common journey toward Black liberation encapsulate a history critical to movement-building today.” Natsu Taylor Saito, author of Settler Colonialism, Race, and the Law

“This unique friendship born under the early idealism of the Black Panther Party within its stated goals and objectives brings smiles to one who has also struggled on the same streets as Paul Coates and Eddie Conway.” Haki R. Madhubuti

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